Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (b. December 22, 1970, in Calgary, Alberta) is a Republican member of the U.S. Senate from Texas.[1] He was first elected in 2012. He defeated David Dewhurst in the primary runoff on July 31, 2012, and went on to win in the general election on November 6, 2012.

According to various reports, Cruz is considering a presidential run in 2016. However there is a question as to whether Cruz is actually eligible to become president, due to the fact that he was born in Canada. The debate hinges on how the phrase from the Constitution "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President." is interpreted.[2][3] Cruz released his birth certificate in August of 2013, but there may still be questions as to whether he is a "natural born Citizen."[4]

Although Cruz is considered a more moderate right of center Republican party vote, according to an analysis of multiple outside rankings, it is due to a tendency to vote against Republican-sponsored bills that are not conservative or libertarian enough. As a result. he may break with party lines on a vote and vote in the same way as many Democrats do, but for a very different reason.

Biography

Ted Cruz earned his BA in Public Policy from Princeton University in 1992. He went on to receive his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1995. Cruz has worked in a number of positions in the law field and is currently partner of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Limited Liability Partnership.[5]

Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from 2003-2008. In this role he was the youngest Solicitor General in the nation, as well as the longest-serving and first Hispanic Solicitor General in the state. Among his accomplishments, Cruz argued 40 oral arguments, including nine before the U.S. Supreme Court.[6]

In August 2012, he was included in a list of 20 Latino political rising stars compiled by the San Francisco Chronicle.[7]

Issues

Legislative actions

113th Congress

The second session of the 113th Congress enacted into law 114 out of the 3,036 introduced bills (3.8 percent). Comparatively, the 112th Congress had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session.[10] The Senate confirmed 13,949 out of 18,323 executive nominations received (76.1 percent). For more information pertaining to Cruz's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.[11]

National security

American response in Syria

While speaking to a crowd at the Heritage Foundation, Cruz praised Obama's decision to seek congressional approval, while still acknowledging he would have voted "no." Cruz said, "I would have voted ‘no,’ great many others would have voted ‘no.’ But I think it reflected a wise and prudent judgement on the part of the president to postpone the vote, rather than have that authority rejected and I don’t believe that the president is going to ignore the views of the American people."[12]

John Brennan CIA nomination

Cruz voted against the confirmation of John Brennan as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. The nomination was confirmed by the Senate on March 7, 2013, with a vote of 63 - 34. Most Democrats supported the nomination, while Republicans were somewhat divided with roughly one-third supporting the nomination.[13]

On March 6, 2013, Senator Rand Paul (R) led a 13-hour filibuster of President Obama's CIA Director nominee, John Brennan. Paul started the filibuster in order to highlight his concerns about the administration's drone policies. In particular, Paul said he was concerned about whether a drone could be used to kill an American citizen within the United States border without any due process involved. Paul and other civil liberties activists were critical of President Obama for not offering a clear response to the question. A total of 14 senators joined Paul in the filibuster -- 13 Republicans and one Democrat.[14][15][16]

Cruz was one of the 13 Republican senators who joined Paul in his filibuster.[17][18]

According to the website Breitbart, 30 Republican senators did not support the filibuster.[19][20]

The day after the filibuster, Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to Paul, responding to the filibuster. Holder wrote, "Does the president have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on U.S. soil? The answer to that is no."[21]

Economy

Government shutdown

During the shutdown in October 2013, the Senate rejected, down party lines, every House-originated bill that stripped the budget of funding for the Affordable Care Act. A deal was reached late on October 16, 2013, just hours before the debt ceiling deadline. The bill to reopen the government, H.R. 2775, lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funds the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[22] The final vote on H.R. 2775 was 81-18, with all 18 votes against the bill from Republican members. Cruz voted with the Republican Party against the bill.[23]

Cruz vowed to donate his paycheck to charity while the government was on shutdown.[24]

Cruz said the shutdown has not affected his family's visit to the D.C. area. He took his family apple picking and to Mount Vernon.[25]

After the government shutdown ended with Republicans failing to receive any concessions from President Barack Obama, Cruz blamed GOP senators for the loss. He said, "The reason this deal, the lousy deal was reached, is because unfortunately Senate Republicans made the choice not to support House Republicans." He later added, "I think that was unfortunate. I think it was unfortunate that you saw multiple members of the Senate Republicans going on television attacking House conservatives, attacking the effort to defund Obamacare, saying it can not win, it's a fools errand, we will lose, this must fail. That is a recipe for losing the fight, and it's a shame."[26]

The proposed budget would have cut about $5 trillion over the next decade and aimed to balance the budget by the end of the 10-year period.[28]

Some tea party members of the GOP opposed the measure because of its reliance on $600 billion-plus in tax revenues on the wealthy enacted in January 2013, in order to balance the budget.[27] Others in the Senate opposed the Ryan plan because of cuts from safety net programs for the poor and the inclusion of a plan to turn the Medicare program for the elderly into a voucher-like system for future beneficiaries born in 1959 or later.[27]

No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013

Cruz voted against H.R.325 -- No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013. The bill passed the Senate on January 31, 2013, with a vote of 64 - 34. The purpose of the bill was to temporarily suspended the debt ceiling and withhold the pay of members of Congress until a budget could be passed. The vote largely followed party lines with Democrats overwhelmingly supporting it and many Republicans in opposition to the bill.[29]

Immigration

Mexico-U.S. border

Cruz voted for Senate Amendment 1197 -- Requires the Completion of the Fence Along the United States-Mexico Border. The amendment was rejected by the Senate on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 39 - 54. The purpose of the amendment was to require the completion of 350 miles of fence described in the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 before registered provisional immigrant status may be granted. It would also require 700 miles of fence be completed before the status of registered provisional immigrants may be changed to permanent resident status. The vote followed party lines.[30]

Healthcare

Continuing Resolution filibuster

Cruz spoke for over 21 hours on the floor of the Senate in a faux filibuster about defunding The Affordable Care Act. He relinquished control of the floor at noon on September 25, 2013. According to Senate rules, the latest he could have spoken was only an hour later at 1 p.m. According to Majority Leader Harry Reid, "This is not a filibuster. This is an agreement that he and I made that he could talk."[31]

The speech took place after Cruz called for Republican senators to effectively filibuster the continuing resolution which passed the House in September 2013. He said, "Step two is the Senate, where all accounts suggest Harry Reid plans to use procedural gimmicks to try to add funding back in for Obamacare. If Reid pursues this plan — if he insists on using a 50-vote threshold to fund Obamacare with a partisan vote of only Democrats — then I hope that every Senate Republican will stand together and oppose cloture on the bill in order to keep the House bill intact and not let Harry Reid add Obamacare funding back in."[32]

He went on, "Now is a time for party unity; Senate Republicans should stand side-by-side with courageous House Republicans."[32]

Bataan death march apology

Cruz's apology to U.S. Filipino Veterans

Cruz issued an apology to Filipino veterans on September 30, 2013, for his comments during his 21-hour long floor speech referencing the Bataan death march.[33]

“I apologize for causing offense. I should not have said what I did,” Cruz said.[33]

At the end of his more than 21 hour long speech, Cruz wrapped up by acknowledging floor staff and individuals who worked during his speech, thanking “the men and women who have endured this — this Bataan death march.”[33]

Anti-Obamacare rally

Senators Cruz, Rand Paul and Mike Lee, who have been leading calls in the Senate to defund Obamacare in any spending bills, headlined a September 10, 2013, "Exempt America from Obamacare" event, organized by Tea Party Patriots and ForAmerica, along with other conservative groups.[34]

“Democrats will stop at nothing to protect the president’s signature legislation, and too many Republicans are afraid to fight,” rally organizers wrote.[34] They also took a shot at the Office of Personnel Management rule allowing the federal government to continue subsidizing health plans for lawmakers and their aides.[34] “Even Big Government is getting a carve out now,” they wrote.[34]

The rally comes after 80 House members signed a letter in August 2013, calling on Congress to defund the health care law in upcoming fiscal battles.[34]

Social Issues

Violence Against Women (2013)

Cruz voted against S.47 -- Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. The bill was passed by the Senate on February 12, 2013, with a vote of 78 - 22. The purpose of the bill was to combat violence against women, from domestic violence to international trafficking in persons. All 22 dissenting votes were cast by Republicans.[35]

Harry Reid

Harry Reid stated that he partly thinks it would be good for Cruz to be the 2016 presidential nominee for the Republican Party. He said, "If I didn’t care so much about our country, I would hope he would get the Republican nomination for president, because that would mean the end of the Republican Party. With Ted Cruz, I am sure this will help him raise more money." He went on to say about Cruz, "He stands for everything America doesn’t."[36]

Primary endorsements

Cruz privately told his fellow Republican senators that he would not engage in the Senate Conservative Fund's tactics to defeat them in primary elections. A spokeswoman, Catherine Frazier, said, "He’ll continue working with them to promote common conservative policies but not get involved in their endorsement or fundraising decisions. SCF’s organization is not just about primary politics but promoting conservative causes that Republicans across the spectrum can support.”[37]

Fox News interview

Before Cruz appeared on Fox News's "Hannity," Chris Wallace said that he had received opposition research and questions from fellow Republicans so that he could hammer Cruz on the show. Cruz responded to this news by saying, "I mean folks can do whatever they want to resist change, and there are a lot of people that have been in Washington a long time that are fearful of change. They’re fearful of risk, they’re fearful of anything that changes the clubby way Washington does business." He went on, "And you know, no matter what insults others choose to hurl at me and in the last few weeks they have picked quite a few, some of them have been pretty amusing actually, but no matter what they do I’m not going to respond in kind."[38]

Endorsements

Cruz declined to endorse fellow Texas senator John Cornyn or any other incumbent Republican in 2014. He stated, "I think every elected official, including me, owes it to the people, owes it the grass roots, to go and make the case to the grass roots why he or she is representing their interests." It is thought that his silence could embolden conservatives seeking to challenge incumbents in 2014.[39]

Cruz’s leadership political action committee, Jobs Growth and Freedom Fund, made only five donations in the first six months of its existence, and all of those dollars went to incumbents. On May 10, 2013, according to Federal Election Commission records, Cruz wrote a $2,500 check to the campaign of Cornyn.[40]

Pheasant hunting with Steve King

Cruz announced on August 30, 2013, that he accepted an invitation to hunt pheasants on October 26, 2013, in northwest Iowa with Steve King on the opening day of Iowa’s pheasant hunting season.[41]

“Yes, we are confirmed for a hunt with King,” Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier said in an email statement. “The senator has enjoyed getting to know him and work with him on important issues before Congress. He’s honored to have received the invite.”[41]

Iowa Reagan Dinner

Cruz gave a 45 minute long speech at Iowa's Reagan Dinner on October 25, 2013. He spoke about Obamacare and applauded House Republicans for standing up to Democrats. He also mentioned Obama's failed gun control policies saying, "When it came time for a vote [on gun control] every single proposal of the president’s that would have undermined the Second Amendment was voted down. That was the power of the grass roots."[42]

Elections

2016

According to a report, Cruz is considering a presidential run in 2016.[2]

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Cruz is available dating back to 2012. Based on available campaign finance records, Cruz raised a total of $14,511,279 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 25, 2013.[46]

2012

Breakdown of the source of Cruz's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Cruz won election to the U.S. Senate in 2012. During that election cycle, Cruz's campaign committee raised a total of $14,511,279 and spent $14,031,864.[47] This is more than the average $10.2 million spent by Senate winners in 2012.[48]

Lifetime missed votes

According to the website GovTrack, Cruz missed 1 of 92 roll call votes from January 2013 to March 2013. This amounts to 1.1%, which is better than the median of 1.7% among current senators as of March 2013.[52]

Net worth

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Cruz's net worth as of 2012 was estimated between $1,029,049 and $5,159,997. That averages to $3,094,523, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican senators in 2012 of $6,956,438.47. Cruz ranked as the 45th most wealthy senator in 2012.[53]

Ted Cruz Yearly Net Worth

Year

Avg. Net Worth

% Difference from previous year

2012

$3,094,523

86.3%

2011

$1,661,021

N/A

Personal

Cruz and his wife, Heidi, have two children.[5] Heidi works as a vice-president for Goldman Sachs, assigned to the Houston area.[54]

Cruz was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, on December 22, 1970. His father, a Cuban immigrant, fled his home country in 1957 after fighting against the dictator Fulgencio Batista. His mother is Irish-American.[55]

Rafael Cruz

Cruz's father, Rafael, has made headlines through increasing speaking engagements. At a speaking engagement in July 2013, Rafael compared President Obama to Fidel Castro.[56]